| name | gitwatch |
| description | Track and summarize git commits affecting a specific folder or file over a time period. Use when the user wants to understand what changed in a path, review recent commits, or get a changelog-style summary. Triggers include "what changed in src/", "show commits affecting utils.py", "gitwatch the api folder", "summarize changes to X in the last week", or any request to track/watch/monitor git history for a specific path. |
Gitwatch
Analyze git history for a specific path and provide a clear summary of changes.
Arguments
| Argument | Default | Description |
|---|
| path | (required) | File or folder path to watch |
| duration | 24h | Time window (e.g., 24h, 7d, 2w, 1m) |
| branch | origin/main | Branch to analyze |
Workflow
1. Parse duration
Convert duration to git date format:
24h / 1d → --since="24 hours ago"7d / 1w → --since="7 days ago"2w → --since="14 days ago"1m → --since="1 month ago"
2. Fetch commits
git log <branch> --since="<duration>" --oneline --stat -- <path>
For detailed analysis:
git log <branch> --since="<duration>" --format="%H|%an|%ad|%s" --date=short -- <path>
3. Analyze and summarize
If no commits found, report that the path had no changes in the time window.
For each commit, examine:
git show <hash> --stat -- <path>
git show <hash> -- <path>
4. Output format
## Summary
[A small summary with bullet points describing the overall nature of changes: what areas were affected,
what types of changes occurred (features, fixes, refactors), and the general direction]
## Commits
[If ≤10 commits: list all with brief descriptions]
[If >10 commits: list the most significant ones based on impact/scope, note "X additional minor commits omitted"]
| Commit | PR number (if any) | Author | Date | Summary |
|--------|---------------------|--------|------------|---------------------------------|
| abc123 | #396 | Alice | 2024-01-15 | Added validation for user input |
| def456 | #512 | Bob | 2024-01-14 | Fixed null pointer in parser |
Significance criteria (when >10 commits)
Select most significant commits based on:
- Commits with substantial line changes
- Commits affecting core functionality vs peripheral files
- Commits with meaningful feature/fix descriptions vs minor tweaks
- Merge commits summarizing larger changes
Omit: typo fixes, formatting-only changes, minor refactors, dependency bumps.
